Marathon seaon
There have been lots of you pounding the pavements in recent months building up the miles for lots of different marathons. Well done to all of you who finished, we are sure you have inspired some to take up the gauntlet next year but if you are still wondering what it would feel like to be on the start line we have two marathon reports for you. Firstly, one from a new member at Prestwich AC, Scarlet Sampson who ran her first marathon at London 2022 and then we hear from more experienced marathon runner, Rach Garner, who ran Chester marathon.
Quick club news
Before you read on just some quick club news items:
- the AGM will be on Thursday 17 November starting at 8pm at Prestwich Cricket, Tennis and Bowling Club - your chance to have your say and welcome the new committee
- presentation night will be on Saturday 26 November - all club members welcome, no cost and there will be pie and peas and a disco. A great night even if you haven't won anything.
- new club records this month by Rach Garner FV50 at Chester marathon in 4.05.58, Hilary Herman FV60 at Chicago marathon in 3.42.35 and Tony Ryan V60 3.34.56 at London marathon
- remember if you weren't successful at London marathon entry for 2023 there is still the club ballot for those who weren't successful with one place up for grabs - watch out for an email asking for your proof.
- please remember to vote for most improved male and female club runner and the Dave Bradshaw award - everyone had an email last Monday with a voting link
My marathon experience
Hello! For those who don’t know me, I’m Scarlet and I joined PAC in June this year. I joined for two reasons… Reason 1: I’d seen you guys at Heaton Parkrun and thought you looked like a fun group. Reason 2: I was about to start my training for the London Marathon and wanted to have local running friends I could get advice from and run with.
I thought I’d start by explaining how I got into running. I was at home watching the London Marathon on TV in 2019 and everyone running looked so incredibly happy and was running with huge smiles on their faces. At the time I’d had a bit of a rubbish weekend and was feeling pretty sad. I was watching thinking I want to be that happy, I need to run so I can feel as happy as those runners I see on TV. Throughout the coverage they had spoken about parkrun so I googled what that was and signed myself up. The following Saturday I headed down to Platt Fields (my local at the time), did my first ever 5k and never looked back. I love running, it’s helped me in both my mental and physical health and I’m so glad I started this journey!
The London Marathon has always been on my bucket list, even before I started running. My Dad ran it in 1999 in 3 hours 50 minutes, so I’ve always watched the coverage at home every time it’s on and this year it was my turn to give it a go.
I got offered a charity place by Whizz-Kidz back in November 2021. I was so nervous about the fundraising target of £2,100 that I set up a weekly bake sale at work straight away and soon the donations were flying in. I reached my target in July and have now raised over £2,500 for this incredible charity that support children in wheelchairs.
Well, my marathon experience has been incredible from start to finish. I followed a 16-week training plan that I put together myself taking ideas from Runners World, Women’s Running and London Marathon’s own marathon training plan. I printed it out and put it on my fridge so I could tick off the days as I went and could see my progress (it hasn’t come down yet and we’re nearly three weeks post marathon now). I really enjoyed the training, building up the miles and seeing myself improve on the longer distances. I covered 451 miles of running on my training plan which equated to 77 hours and 28 minutes.
I made sure I did all the classics: trained with different fuelling ways to see what worked for me and tried out various shorts to see which could hold the largest amount of jelly babies without rubbing. One thing I did which I feel really helped was I had a sports massage once a month throughout the training. This allowed me to chat to my physio regularly about any niggles I’d felt and for him to give me exercises and advice on dealing with those. Just in case anyone was wondering my fuelling strategy was as follows… I would have a smoothie before long runs (and race day) consisting of oats, banana, beetroot, raspberries and water. I’d then have an SIS gel every five miles and a jelly baby in between. I did trial some caffeine block chews but they just weren’t for me. I would also put electrolyte tablets in my water to take with me. I did a few long runs with PAC members and enjoyed listening to their wise words and stories about marathons they’d experienced. Medoc Marathon seemed to crop up quite a few times and sounds like an absolute joy of a marathon to do!
So, before I knew it the big day had arrived. On the morning I felt incredibly calm (very unlike me) and was just having my pre-race breakfast watching a replay of Strictly Come Dancing loving life. I was at my start wave at Greenwich Park and who do I see? The wonderful and fellow PAC member Steph! We started and ran the first 11 miles together. We were chatting away, soaking up the atmosphere and just having a wonderful time. Everyone always says how amazing the crowds are and they certainly don’t lie. Cutty Sark was the first place there was a massive crowd and it was incredible to see so many people and charities supporting various runners. I had my name on my top so enjoyed all the shoutouts and words of encouragement I got. The miles were ticking over and I was really enjoying myself, even at mile 7 where I just didn’t pick my foot up enough and went flying to the ground. I jumped straight back up, took a tissue from a fellow runner, had a little chat to Steph about whether we should go to one of the ambulances at the side but decided against it as I was feeling fine so on we went. I’m honestly so grateful Steph was there as I really think it would have gotten in my head otherwise and I would have stopped, so thank you Steph for being there.
On the miles went, round a corner and boom I was at Tower Bridge where the crowd were just amazing. I’d watched it on tele but being there it honestly felt electric. A moment I’ll never forget. I’d seen from a text on my phone that my family were on the right on Tower Bridge, so I put myself on the right-hand side and was searching the crowd for them. Right at the end of Tower Bridge my family were there in matching red tops with a picture of me on them and “Go Scarlet!” written underneath. There was no chance I was missing them, especially as Mum had a cowbell and my boyfriend’s Dad had unscrewed the windchime off the side of his house and was ringing that too! Headed off Tower Bridge and started to feel like my legs were getting rather tired. At about mile 15 I decided to walk but I stopped to walk and my legs just went to jelly, so I quickly carried on running. After a little panic and pep talk, I decided the sensible thing to do was to make myself walk and give myself a little restart. So that’s what I did I walked for 0.2 of a mile and then carried on running. I then got into a little rhythm of running 0.8 of the mile then walking 0.2. Continued that until about mile 19 where out of nowhere I got the biggest boost of energy (it was probably the Lucozade I drank). So off I went flying and loving life. I saw Steph again and we ran together for a few miles along Embankment enjoying the DJ stands and the incredible crowds. I saw my family again and they were all amazed at how happy and strong I looked (I’ve later found out that they had all prepared little pep talks to give me as they thought I was really going to be struggling, they clearly had a lot of faith in me).
Miles were passing by and I felt so proud, so comfortable and so amazed that I was nearly at the end of the London Marathon something I’d dreamt about for so long. Pass the London Eye, pass Big Ben and onto Bird Cage walk. Then, there was that famous sign… 385 yards to go (I mean who works in yards I have no idea how far that actually is but I knew it was near the finish). I put my face in my hands and just couldn’t believe it. Off I went past Buckingham Palace, spotting the finish line and for the first time in a long time I was feeling so incredibly proud of myself, not just for that day but for the whole training block and the fundraising, I’d done it, I’d actually done it. I crossed the finish line and had the biggest smile on my face. Picked up my medal and felt like I was on top of the world. London Marathon you were INCREDIBLE, better than I ever could have imagined. When I first found out I had a place I always thought under 5 hours would be amazing to get but something I probably wouldn’t achieve, well I did it in 4:56:34 which I’m over the moon with. I found my family and they were all so happy for me. Dad was particularly excited that the elite family club of marathon runners had now doubled its membership (just me and Dad in the club). I had a race debrief with them over a bowl of chips and a bottle of Prosecco, Dad then asked me if I would do another marathon but before he could finish the question I said “No!”. He then asked me again the next day and I said “Hmmmm we’ll see…”.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone I’ve ran with at PAC and everyone who’s given me advice about my training and the race day itself. I listened to all your advice (maybe not the one about going too quickly at the start but we all do that don’t we) and took it on board. Thank you PAC!
Chester Marathon by Rach Garner
I only booked Chester Marathon 4 weeks before after chatting to PAC pals at Parkrun who had also registered and were well on their way working through marathon training. I figured I had the miles in my legs and hoped that joining the marathon training party very late would work out and that I could pull off marathon number seven. I managed a few halves on Sunday mornings, a 17 miler and a solo 20 mile run and felt semi- confident to book the race. Physically my legs felt strong but mentally I wasn’t so sure.
It was encouraging that there were a few friends from PAC also running the Marathon. For some it was their first Marathon, some had completed several and some kept it totally secret until they turned up on the morning!
I decided to travel to Chester the day before with my family and make a weekend of it. A visit to the racecourse on the Saturday to the marathon merchandise stall, a pasta meal on Saturday evening and a night in a Premier Inn sounded perfect race prep- almost forgot the 5k warm up on the day before round Cheshire Oaks Shopping Centre ( 5k walk round the shops not running !)
For those who know me well will realise at this stage that food plays a huge part in my running and training so a full cooked veggie breakfast at 7am hit the spot on race morning followed by a 10 min walk to the racecourse to meet my pals. The weather was warm and sunny and bag drop and all the start proceedings were seamless. There was a lovely friendly and relaxed atmosphere and none of the cattle prodding crowd control measures previously experienced at other large marathons.
The race initially snaked through Chester with the runners passing under the famous clock tower and other familiar landmarks. We then ran into the Cheshire countryside and through many little pretty villages. The Marathon felt very different to other marathons I have done. There wasn’t a single soul stood outside their house smoking in their dressing gown and no disused washing machines or fridges in sight although the support from the public was phenomenal. Families were out in force banging pans and wooden spoons and the sound of everyone cheering my name was very motivational. We passed over the border to Wales making Chester Marathon an international marathon ! We were greeted by a lady in a deckchair hollering “ Welcome to Wales “ which was really nice.
I used my usual Marathon mentality plan which is – run a half, have a dodgy mile 13/14 where I want to go home, then it’s just PAC Monday and PAC Thurs straight after each other – and that plan usually works. Mile 13/14 is always a flaky time for me though and the same thing happened on Sunday as I expected.
I probably ate most of my snacks about mile 13. I had two Mars Bars, a bag of Haribos , a brunch bar and two cold hash browns I pinched from breakfast ! I don’t do gels I just eat food as most people know.!
The course was tough, especially in the second half. It was more undulating than I expected especially with a rather large steep hill at mile 25. The race angels were out in force running up the hill with people and then legging it back down to accompany more flagging runners up the final hill.
Drinks stations with gels and water were plentiful and marshals on bikes were cycling alongside runners at this stage in the race offering gels and general support and encouragement.
I was aiming for another sub 4 hour finish. My PB at Manchester in 2017 was 3.45 and I managed Manchester again last year in 3.49 securing a Good for Age application for London in 2023. I was well on track for another sub 4 until mile 22 when my previously injured glute and hamstring started pulling and twinging. I sensible slowed it down in the last few miles and finished in 4.05 which I was delighted with. Especially as I had Snowdonia Marathon in just three weeks! Can you imagine how much food and snacks I will be carrying on that one!
The last half mile was along the River Dee and allowed lots of opportunities for supporters to catch a glimpse of the runners heading for home. The route was lined with people clapping and cheering and it was a massive boost to feel this encouragement. My family managed to watch the finish from the city walls just above the finish line and they said they could see my black and yellow bee socks well before they knew it was me!
Coming over the line in the sunshine we were handed a lovely chunky medal, a long sleeve finishers top and a cloth tote bag jam packed with goodies just in case I hadn’t eaten enough on the run ! It was possible the best goodie bag I have ever had.
I caught a glimpse of my youngest daughter Polly after I headed over to my supporter crew. She was so excited and jumping up and down looking extremely excitable. I thought that it was so ace that she was so pleased for me and proud of her Mum !
It was nothing to do with her Mum legging it over the finishing line, it was a lady on a bike with three cute dogs in drawstring bags in her basket!
You can never impress your kids can you !!
That's all folks!
Just to leave you with an appropriate quote for this edition from Kathrine Switzer who pioneered women's marathon running by entering the Boston marathon when women were officially banned and being the winning woman in the New York marathon in 1974:
"If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon."
But be warned you may end up entering one....